IB Exam Schedule May 2027: Every Main Paper in Malaysia Time, Plus November 2026

The IB exam schedule for May 2027 runs from Friday 23 April to Tuesday 18 May 2027, and in Malaysia every paper starts at 9:30 am or 1:30 pm. Both facts come from the IB's final May 2027 schedule, which gives schools on UTC+8, Malaysia's time zone, the start times of exam zone A.^[1]

The IB's own exam schedule page listed schedules only up to November 2026 when the Internet Archive last saved it, on 25 September 2026.^[2] The final May 2027 timetable is already out, though: schools have it and share it with their students. This guide puts it into Malaysian time, paper by paper, and adds the November 2026 session, the coursework and registration deadlines around the exams, and the courses examined for the first time in May 2027. Afterkelas is an online tuition school, not part of the IB, so if your school's copy ever differs from this page, follow your school.

One date needs a warning. The IB's May 2026 schedule printed a provisional window for 2027 that ended on Wednesday 19 May,^[3] and pages built from that line still show it. The final schedule ends a day earlier, on Tuesday 18 May, with Mathematics HL paper 3.

When are the IB exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028?

The IB holds two exam sessions a year, in May and in November, and the November session also serves students retaking subjects. Two schedules are final. The next two exist so far only as provisional windows printed at the end of the previous schedules.

The November 2026 schedule supplies the November 2027 window,^[4] and the May 2027 schedule supplies May 2028, again with no exams on 1 May. Use the provisional dates for planning only, because they can move, as the end of May 2027 did.

Results follow in December and July. November 2026 results reach Malaysian schools in the early hours of Thursday 17 December 2026: at 3:00 am if the IB keeps the hour it used in 2025, or at 5:00 am if it follows its Assessment FAQ. May 2027 results are expected on the IB's candidate website from 8:00 pm Malaysian time on Tuesday 6 July 2027.^[5]

What time do IB exams start in Malaysia?

At 9:30 am for the morning session and 1:30 pm for the afternoon session. The IB does not print a timetable for each country. Each schedule carries one table of local start times, arranged by exam zone and by offset from UTC, and every paper in a session starts at the same local time. Malaysia is on UTC+8, Malaysia Time (MYT), all year, and the only row for UTC+8 sits in zone A.

The bottom row explains the 8:30 am and 12:30 pm starts that some websites give: those are the times for schools between UTC-5 and UTC-10, mostly in the Americas. The notes printed with the table also help. A school's zone stays the same from one session to the next, and the start time never varies within a morning or afternoon session. The times are local and are not adjusted for daylight saving, which Malaysia does not use anyway.

Some days put two papers of one subject in the same session, such as History papers 1 and 2 on the afternoon of Monday 3 May. The session still begins at the time shown, and your school will tell you how the two papers run on the day.

IB exam schedule May 2027 in Malaysia time

The tables list the papers in Mathematics, the three sciences, Psychology, Computer Science, Environmental Systems and Societies, Business Management, Economics, History, Geography, English A, and Language A and B. Where an HL paper and an SL paper differ in length, both lengths are given, and HL and SL candidates who start together finish at different times. The Language A and Language B rows cover every language except English, French and Spanish, which the IB schedules on days of their own, so they include Chinese A and Mandarin B.

Friday 23 April holds only two afternoon papers, the school-based syllabus SL paper 1 and Language and culture SL paper 1. For most students the exams begin on Monday 26 April.

Week 1: Friday 23 to Friday 30 April

Week 2: Monday 3 to Friday 7 May

Weeks 3 and 4: Monday 10 to Tuesday 18 May

Subjects outside the tables sit in the same four weeks. Sports, Exercise and Health Science shares the Physics sessions on 28 and 29 April, Design Technology sits on 5 and 6 May, and Digital Society and Global Politics run on 14 and 17 May. English B and English ab initio share the English A days, and ab initio papers in other languages share the Language B days. The French papers fall on the last two days, 17 and 18 May.

How the May 2027 schedule falls for three subject combinations

Your own pattern depends on your six subjects, and two students in the same class can have very different fortnights. These three example combinations, each with three subjects at HL and three at SL, show how far apart the busy stretches can be.

IB November 2026 exam schedule in Malaysia time

The November 2026 schedule is also final. It runs from Friday 23 October to Friday 13 November 2026 with the same 9:30 am and 1:30 pm starts. In this session only English and Spanish have days of their own, so French sits with the other languages. Computer Science and Design Technology still have an HL paper 3, and Psychology keeps its two-hour paper 1: November 2026 is the last session before the new versions of those courses are examined in May 2027.

Friday 23 October has only the school-based syllabus SL paper 1, in the afternoon, so most candidates start on Monday 26 October.

Week 1: Friday 23 to Friday 30 October

Week 2: Monday 2 to Friday 6 November

Week 3: Monday 9 to Friday 13 November

IB deadlines for May 2027: what the IB sets and what your school sets

The IB keeps its own deadlines in its Diploma Programme assessment procedures, a handbook it publishes for schools rather than the public, so the IB dates here come from IB schools that publish their calendars. Your coordinator works to these dates and sets earlier ones for you, because every piece of work has to be checked and uploaded through IBIS Definition The IB information system, the website coordinators use to register candidates, upload coursework and enter predicted grades. before the IB's cut-off.

Schools' calendars describe 20 April as the IB's final upload deadline,^[6] and the registration dates come from a school's guidance that quotes the IB's rules.^[7] Schools usually close registration earlier still, so check your subjects, levels and the spelling of your name with your coordinator well before 15 November.

Dates such as 15 March for the extended essay, which some websites quote, are internal deadlines set by particular schools. One US school's calendar for its May 2027 students asks for two-year coursework by 31 January, one-year coursework and TOK work by 28 February, and all predicted grades by 22 March.^[8] Malaysian schools set their own, and the date on your school's calendar is the one that counts for you.

Which IB courses are examined for the first time in May 2027?

New versions of Computer Science, Design Technology, Psychology and Visual Arts were first taught from August 2025, along with a new extended essay, and all of them are examined for the first time in May 2027.^[9] The changes show in the timetable as well as in class.

Two more changes are on the way. History moves to a new course first examined in May 2028, and the new Mathematics: analysis and approaches and applications and interpretation courses are first taught from August 2027 and first examined in May 2029. Students who start the Diploma in August 2027 will be the first to sit the new maths papers.

Do IB exams go ahead on Malaysian public holidays?

Yes. The IB says it cannot take public, national or school holidays into account, apart from 1 May, because the Diploma is taught in so many countries. Two dates matter in Malaysia across these two sessions.

Deepavali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026.^[10] The next day, Monday 9 November, has paper 2 in Geography, Global Politics, Digital Society and Social and Cultural Anthropology in the morning and Mathematics paper 1 in the afternoon, whether or not your school is closed that day.

Hari Raya Haji falls on Monday 17 May 2027, and Tuesday 18 May is a second holiday in Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu. The government marks both dates as subject to change. Monday 17 May has Digital Society, Global Politics and French papers, and Tuesday 18 May has the French paper 2s and Mathematics HL paper 3. Labour Day, 1 May 2027, is a Saturday. Our guide to the 2027 school holidays lists every public holiday in 2027.

Details that are easy to miss

• Your school registers you for the exams through its DP coordinator, so a wrong subject, level or name is fixed through the school.
• HL and SL candidates start together but finish at different times. Physics HL paper 2 lasts 2 hr 30 min, an hour longer than SL paper 2.
• Moving a paper for one student needs the IB's approval, and your coordinator makes the request.
• Results arrive on the IB's candidate website, candidates.ibo.org, with the personal code and PIN your coordinator gives you.

If the IB changes the schedule, its notice to your school takes precedence over this page.

Frequently asked questions

When do the IB exams start in 2027?

The May 2027 session starts on Friday 23 April 2027 with two afternoon papers, and the main written papers begin on Monday 26 April. The IB's final schedule ends the session on Tuesday 18 May 2027.

When do the IB May 2027 exams end?

On Tuesday 18 May 2027, with Mathematics: analysis and approaches HL paper 3 and applications and interpretation HL paper 3 in the afternoon session, from 1:30 pm in Malaysia. Pages that give 19 May are using the provisional date printed in the May 2026 schedule.

What time do IB exams start in Malaysia?

Morning papers start at 9:30 am and afternoon papers at 1:30 pm Malaysian time. These are the IB's start times for schools at UTC+8 in exam zone A, and they are the same for every subject and every exam day.

Which IB exam zone is Malaysia in?

Zone A. The IB's start time table is arranged by zone and by offset from UTC, and the only row for UTC+8, Malaysia's offset, is in zone A. The 8:30 am and 12:30 pm starts that some pages quote belong to zone C schools between UTC-5 and UTC-10, mostly in the Americas.

When is the IB Maths exam in May 2027?

Mathematics: analysis and approaches and applications and interpretation share the same slots. Paper 1 is on Thursday 13 May at 1:30 pm, paper 2 on Friday 14 May at 9:30 am and HL paper 3 on Tuesday 18 May at 1:30 pm, Malaysian time. Papers 1 and 2 last 2 hours at HL and 1 hour 30 minutes at SL, and HL paper 3 lasts 1 hour 15 minutes.

When are the IB November 2026 exams?

From Friday 23 October to Friday 13 November 2026, with the main papers from Monday 26 October. The schedule is final, and papers start at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm Malaysian time, as in May.

Is the IB May 2027 exam schedule final?

Yes. The IB's May 2027 schedule is marked FINAL VERSION. The IB's public schedule page had not added it when it was last archived, on 25 September 2026, but schools are already sharing it, and your DP coordinator can give you your school's copy.

When is the deadline for the extended essay and IAs for May 2027?

The IB's last day for schools to upload internal assessment work, the extended essay, the TOK essay and predicted grades is 20 April 2027, according to IB schools' published calendars. Your school sets earlier internal deadlines, often between January and March, and those are the dates you have to meet.

When do IB results come out in Malaysia?

November 2026 results reach schools in the early hours of Thursday 17 December 2026, Malaysian time: at 3:00 am if the IB keeps the hour it used in 2025, or at 5:00 am under its Assessment FAQ. Under the IB's standing rule, May 2027 results are expected on the IB candidate website on Tuesday 6 July 2027 from 8:00 pm Malaysian time (12:00 GMT). Your coordinator can tell you your school's exact release time.

Do IB exams take place on public holidays in Malaysia?

Yes. The IB does not move papers for national holidays, apart from 1 May. Mathematics paper 1 still takes place on Monday 9 November 2026, the day after Deepavali, and papers also run on Hari Raya Haji, Monday 17 May 2027, and on Tuesday 18 May 2027, a second Hari Raya Haji holiday in Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu.